Stromboli Summer Research Intensive
Saturday 23 to Sunday 31 of August 2025
A collaborative research intensive on foundational questions in physics on the shore of the volcano island of Stromboli
The Stromboli Summer Research Institute will bring 12 early-career researchers (final-year PhD students and postdocs) to the beautiful volcano island of Stromboli for a week of deep inquiry and discussion around selected research ideas in the foundations of physics proposed by the participants.
The main objective of this event is to provide researchers with a friendly environment to explore their own ideas and develop long-lasting collaborations, obtaining valuable experience in for their research career and eventual supervision of students.
The SSRI actively cultivates community values. All participants will co-live in shared bedrooms and common areas, and contribute to the preparation of meals and cleaning responsibilities.
Please read carefully the website to understand if this event, with its unusual format and location, is a good fit for you before applying. Application deadline April 7th.
format
a week of collaborative research
the first day. The participants will give a 30-minute whiteboard presentation on the project they want to explore. They should paint a qualitative picture of the topics that they want to research as well as propose a provisional action plan for the rest of the week. Participants will then pick two other projects they would like to contribute to for rest of the week.
the week. Each day will be divided in sessions dedicated to working together on the different projects. There are many possible ways to lead and structure a session, such as
reading and discussing papers together with your team
watching lectures together
whiteboard discussions
working on a computation
the last day. Each participant will give a 30-minute whiteboard presentation highlighting the insights and progress they have made during the week.
about your project. You will bring a project to work on collaboratively with other interested participants. A project could be as concrete and as well-defined as reading in depth a foundational work, or as open-ended as exploring a question in the philosophy of physics. It should however be something you expect to be able to make meaningful or interesting progress in a week, without assuming other people are experts in the subject area.
topics: foundational and conceptual themes in quantum mechanics, quantum information theory, quantum field theory, classical and quantum gravity, thermodynamics, statistical physics, and philosophy of physics.
application. You will have to explain why you believe you are a good fit for this workshop and propose a research idea that you would like to investigate during the event. The idea does not have to be a fully fledged research project or something that you are already an expert on, but you should have an idea where to start.
about the SSRI
research environment
SSRI will take place in a house by the sea, with several indoor and outdoor spaces for collaborative work and socialising.
Stromboli
participants will have the chance to witness the frequent Strombolian volcanic activity, both by day and by night.
self-directed experience
each participant will bring their research direction and will join two more projects. each day will be dedicated to advancing these directions as the groups see fit.
more information
dates
The scientific programme starts on Sunday 24 in the morning and ends on Saturday 30 afternoon.
Participants must arrive to Stromboli by Saturday 23 end of day, so that we can start the workshop Sunday morning. Participants should not leave before Saturday 30 evening.
Everyone is welcome to arrive a day early and stay one or two extra days, to accomodate for the logistical complications of reaching the island; see travel information below.
travel
Unless you rent a helicopter, getting to Stromboli will involve riding a boat from the mainland. Here are the main options:
via Naples
This is probably the best option for most people, as Naples Capodichino is a well-served international airport. You can also reach Naples fairly easily from Rome via train either (trenitalia,italo). Allow plenty of time for connecting from the airplane to the boat.
Here are the two ways to get from Naples to Stromboli and back that are compatible with the intensive.
SNAV hydrofoil:
Departs daily from Naples at 2:30pm and from Stromboli at 9am during all of August. You can take these on the 23rd and 31st.
In September they only run on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Instructions for booking:
Select "Aeolian Islands" in the first drop-down menu
Siremar overnight ferry:
It doesn't run every day, but the departure Friday 22 at 8pm, return Saturday 30 at 10:30pm (after dinner and drinks) are compatible with the dates of SSRI
Instructions for booking:
https://booking.carontetourist.it/en/isole/start?from=NAPO&to=STRO
Ticket types (“accommodations” on the website) are “passaggio ponte” (there are seats, but they are not assigned, you can try sleep on the floor), “poltrona” (assigned more comfortable seat), and “cabin” (a functional sleeper cabin with shared bathrooms). Probably best to buy a cabin to share with another participant.
via Palermo
Palermo also has an international airport. You can take the Liberty Lines hydrofoil on Saturday 23rd to arrive at the workshop on time, but to go back, you will have to sleep one night on Lipari (the largest of the Aeolian Islands), as there is only an early-morning hydrofoil from Lipari to Palermo.
via other towns
If the two options above don't work for you, Liberty Lines connects Stromboli with Reggio Calabria, Milazzo, Vibo Valentia, and more towns in Sicily and Calabria. Reggio Calabria in particular has an airport, and the other towns are connected by train to bigger cities (trenitalia).
food and accomodation
We will be living and working in a large house by the coast, sharing rooms (not beds) either 2 or 3 people per room. Most meals will be prepared by us on location. The workshop fee will cover the costs of accommodation and meals.
what to expect
We will be co-living for a week in rustic accommodation right by the sea-shore on a dramatic recently Roman-time lava flow, sharing rooms and cooking and cleaning duties.
We’ll work together, cook and eat together, talk, swim, hike, sing, and admire the milky way, but the programme will include unstructured time where you can get some alone time, in the water, on a walk, in a café, or on the volcano.
Everything is walking distance. There are no cars in Stromboli, only small carts and scooters, and no street lighting.
We will get to hike on the volcano at night to see the incandescent pyroclasts from a good angle.
living on a volcano island
The island of Stromboli is one of the most active volcanos in the world, the paradigmatic example of strombolian activity: small and frequent explosive eruptions due to gas bubbles rapidly expanding as they rise in the magma column. Depending on the level of activity and weather conditions we might hear the rumble of the eruptions from home. By hiking a bit at night, we can witness the incandescent rocks fly out of the various mouths that sit at 800m elevation. If we are really lucky, there will be an effusive event, where lava flows out of a crack for several hours, glowing in the dark and boiling seawater.
Most of the material of the eruptions falls alongside the NE-side of the island, the dramatic sciara del fuoco. While the vast majority of the eruptions are completely harmless, larger events can and do happen about once a year. In these cases, hash and smoke can reach the village. There is a risk of dangerously big waves following the very largest eruptions. The warning systems in place that can give a few minutes of warning.
what to bring
Prepare for hot weather during the day, and warm weather at night / evening. Stromboli is generally a quite laid back place, but maybe bring something nice if we want to go one of the restaurants. Otherwise we’ll be barefoot at home.
Some essentials:
swimming suits, bikinis
mask for snorkelling
beach towel (we have shower towels)
flip flops
good shoes for an easy hike
a hoodie or a windbreaker and long trousers in case it’s windy up on the volcano
any medication or food supplements you might need (besides basic over the counter things)
sun protection: glasses, hat, sunblock etc
eyemask (most rooms’ blinds don’t close) and earplugs (in case you need to put the fan on and you don’t like the sound)
headlamp for hiking at night
disclaimers
There are limited facilities on Stromboli: there is no hospital, just a medical outpost and a small pharmacy. Therefore it’s crucial not to take unnecessary risks. If you are concerned about some underlying medical condition, please inform us when applying so that we can assess together how risky it is.
Depending on how the wind blows, the terrace can get quite dusty, so consider taking with you one of those dust keyboard covers.
Coming to Stromboli means getting in contact with the primal dynamical nature of geology. It is a profound experience, one that hundreds of local residents and thousands of holidaymakers choose year on year, but one which carries an irreducible amount of risk. By coming to the event you accept this risk: the organisers cannot be held accountable for damage due to volcanic or meteorological activity.
